Henri and Blake's Adventures

Bob and Jane had seen a recent program on the ABC’s Back Roads on the Victorian coastal town of Mallacoota , and suggeted that it might be a nice place to visit. I had already considered doing so, but it was nice to hear a recommendation. Well, all of Australia’s grey nomads must have seen the same program!!! Apparantly, the day following the airing of the show, the Mallacoota Foreshore Holiday Park received 800 enquiries!!!! They’ve all arrived.

Despite that, it’s not too crowded. There are 4 caravan parks in Malacoota, but the Foreshore Park is the only one adjacent to the waters of the Mallacoota Inlet. It is HUGE. It has over 700 sites. We had several sites to choose from when we arrived. Not being aware of the extent of the park, we settled on a large grassed site. We found that we are 800m from the end of the park that is adjacent to the boat launching area, and the park is 1.2 km in total length. To access the water we’ve had to drive to the launching area.

The area is beautiful. Mallacoota is nestled within the Croajingolong National Park in the Coastal Winderness region of Victoria’s East Gippsland. The weather has been kind to us, enabling 3 paddles on the lake waters, a coupleof bike rides along various bike trails, and a drive to the more distant Point Hicks to the west.

Tomorrow we head furter to Lakes Entrance in Central Gippsland for a week.

Who’d have thought that you can spend 2 weeks in Canberra and still not see everything? However, after 2 excellent weeks, including a lot of very hot days, we were pleased to head out in search of cooler pastures.

Our remaining time in the Nation’s Capital was not without variety and interesting pursuits.

After 2 weeks in Canberra I came to like the place:

• really easy to get around once you’ve mastered the difference between arterial roads and the hidden suburbs. Tom Tom really helped here
• little to no traffic cf to Sydney
• Parking in the city is a cinch
• absolutely no visual pollution from roadside billboards and advertising

I could almost live in Canberra, but for the weather…..hot summers and cold winters, also not enough kayaking variety.

Our last day in Canberra (today, Monday 30) was predicted to be 39 deg with 40-60km/h winds. A good day to get away. However, that was to be the case all the way to the coast. The tyre monitors went ballistic as Henry’s tyres became too hot and pressures exceeded the maximum allowable. Particularly on the steep 10km descent of Browns Mountain where the front tyres exceeded 72 deg as the brakes added to the heat, despite descending in second gear all the way.

There were a few freedom camps on the way at which I would have liked to have stayed overnight, but in those conditions, with no power, we decided to stay in a caravan park on the coast. One non-commercial park south of Eden looked like a hot, dry paddock, so we opted for a Big4 for the one night. We paid and entered, to find it too was a hot, dry paddock. At least we could cool the 40deg caravan down with the air con.

Tomorrow we leave NSW to check out Victoria’s Gippsland Coast.

Having left Parkes last Monday (16 Jan), we headed down to Canberra to spend a few days camping with Carol’s brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Jane. There’s not much in the way of freedom camps close to Canberra. We chose between Bungendore Showground, in NSW, and Cotter Campground 20km from the city. A campground 20km from the city could be either crowded or haunted by local yobbos, or both. We went first to Cotter, on the banks of the Cotter River, managed by ACT National Parks. After some trepidation, despite there being plenty of space and the proximity of the river, it did feel like camping in a carpark. We decided to stay, rather than travelling 63km to check out Bungendore. RIGHT DECISION. Great facilities, great swimming, well managed, safe and, from time to time, a little crowded, but we have a reasonable site.

Bob and Jane arrived a few days later and set up next to us.

The Cotter River was deemed as a sufficiently reliable water source to supply a nation’s capital. It was apparently a strong pro for the development of Canberra. The original Cotter Dam was completed in 1918, designed to have a height of 34m. It was constructed to a height of only 18.3m. Hmmm, someone misread the plans. I guess this resulted in Cotter losing its status as Canberra’s primary water supply.  However, in 2013 an enlarged Cotter Dam was commissioned, inundating the original dam under 50m of water.

Associated with the dam is the Cotter Pumping Station which was constructed in 1918 and still houses and uses the pumps installed at that time, plus additional pumps installed over the following 50 years. The pumping station was dedicated as an Engineering Heritage Item.

Whist waiting for the arrival of Bob and Jane we took a quick trip to the nearby Mt Stromlo Observatory. Sadly, the installation was devastated by the 2003 fire storm that swept through the area.

“What is there to do in Canberra?” I thought when Bob and Jane first suggested Canberra as a venue. Well, little did I know! When we arrived, Carol and I identified 21 significant attractions that might be worth a look, and shortlisted 15. Most require no less than 4 hours, and some several days to get the most out of the exhibits. We visited (to date), National Film and Sound Archive, Old Parliament House, National Carillon, Blundell’s Cottage, National Museum of Australia (including A History of the World in 100 Objects, from the British Museum), CSIRO Discovery Centre, Australian Arboretum, Australian War Memorial and the Deep Space Centre.

A wonderful few days was spent in the company of Bob and Jane. They headed home on Sunday 22. Carol and I decided to stay at the campground until after the Australia day very long weekend.

We’ve had some extremely hot days over the past month or so. Once the school holidays are over we’ve decided to head south to the Victorian eastern coast to escape the heat, heading first the Mallacoota then other coastal towns to the west before returning to Sydney in early March for a quick visit.

We landed on Planet Elvis on Wednesday 11 Jan to witness the 25th Anniversary Parkes Elvis Festival.

Camped at the Parkes Showground (no power or water), we were joined the following afternoon by Justine, then Ron and Sue arrived on Friday. We are all first-time attendees at the Festival, which runs for 5 days. Elvis appeared in every conceivable size, shape and colour.

Hundreds of vans were set up at the showground, as there were at several other locations in Parkes. It was an easy walk and even easier regular shuttle bus ride into the centre of town.

The street was lined with buskers, all the clubs hosted free Elvis entertainment and several dinners and concerts. The main arena at Cook Park staged constant Elvis tribute artists over the course of the festival. There was Elvis and Priscilla look alike contests. Jump suits, gold rimmed glasses, bad hair and side burns were everywhere.

A lot of activity centred on the railway station for the arrival of the Elvis Express from Sydney on Thursday afternoon. We stood in the heat near the station for close to an hour, with many hundreds of others waiting for its arrival. It turned out to be a bit of a non-event for us. There were so many sightseers on the platform that the train passengers could not get off to exit the main pathway. They were ushered off to other exits.

A highlight was the Festival Parade on Saturday morning which was a cavalcade of cars, walkers and performers, most impersonating Elvis or Priscilla. In some instances we weren’t sure what the criteria for entering in the parade had been. However parade participants and watchers all had an entertaining few hours.

Only one draw-back with the festival…. it was bloody hot. The hottest day was Friday, on which Carol and I had to drive back to Sydney for the day, returning the same night, leaving Ron, Sue and Justine to swelter.  Fortunately for all concerned, the following Saturday was mild, allowing the parade to proceed in reasonable comfort. Over the course of the festival we walked the streets listening to buskers, drank coffee, visited free entertainment in the Services Club and Leagues Club to avoid the heat, enjoyed free entertainment in Cook Park (at cooler times) and relaxed back at the showground.

Ron, Sue and Justine left the Festival on  Sunday (15th Jan), so Carol and I took the opportunity to visit the Parkes Radio telescope. A very interesting couple of hours.

Of course, I can’t wrap up a post without a little bit of history, particularly as none of us knew anything of Henry Parkes.

On December 1, 1873 the name of the settlement was changed from Bushmans to Parkes in honour of the great statesman.

We are now in Canberra until after the Australia Day weekend.

Having left Cowra last Monday (9 Jan), we decided to spend a few days at Carcoar Dam, predicted to be few degrees cooler than Cowra, before returning to hotter weather at Parkes.

Carcoar Dam, between the towns of Blayney and Carcoar is located on the Belubula River.  It was constructed in 1969/70 to regulate the flow of the Belubula River. It also provides a 390 Ha recreational waterway. A free camp has been established by Blayney Council on the bank of the reservoir. Fortunately it wasn’t too crowded as we arrived on the first workday after the Christmas/New Year break, providing us with a shady camp site for a few days. Unfortunately we weren’table to take the kayak out despite perfect water conditions, as Carol’s shoulder is still painful from the cycle incident in Bathurst.

Adjacent to the dam is the Blayney windfarm. The farm was commissioned in 2000 and comprises of 15 x 660kW turbines. We could occassionly hear a slow “swoosh” sound as the tubines turned in the breeze.

Oh my goodness, how could I have forgotten to include 2 interesting attractions in Cowra when I prepared the “Cowra” post? They are the Lachlan Valley Railway Heritage Centre (LVR) and the Cowra War, Railway and Rural Museum.

LVRis not unlike the Thirlmere Railway Museum near Picton, though they don’t receive the grants that Thirlmere receives.  A group of enthusiasts secured the use of the Cowra Roundhouse with the closure of the Cowra locomotive depot in the 1970s. Since then the LVR has undertaken ongoing restoration work on steam locos, deisel locos, carriages and wagons. For a donation, one of the members of the centre takes visitors on a very detailed and informative tour of the extensive sheds and roundhouse. well worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

Another interesting attraction is the war and railway museum. Two acres of undercover exhibits of rail, war, POW and general motor and rural memorabilia exist. It’s a little ramshackle and in need of some TLC, restoration and reorganisation. However the entire collection is going under the auctioneer’s hammer in May.

Whilst on our way to Cowra last week, and whilst based there, we took several opportunities to tour the surrounding region. After all, once you’ve seen the LVR, POW camp and the Japanese Gardens, and been to the races, there’s not much else to do in Cowra. And why sit around in 39 degree heat when you can soak up the scenery and history in the ac comfort of Henry.

Carcoar, located between Bathurst and Cowra, is a historic village of untouched 19th-century charm, set in a dell by by the oak lined banks of the Belubula River. The town has been classified by the National Trust due to the number of intact 19th century buildings which have only been preserved and restored – there has been no reconstruction or replication. (Compare this to my comment on the town of Cowra in my last post).

On 29 September 1839, Carcoar became just the third settlement to be gazetted west of the Blue Mountains. In 1863, it has the fine reputation as having Australia’s first daylight bank hold-up, at the Commercial Bank.

From Cowra we did a circuit via Koorawatha, Young and Grenfell to take in the scenery and history of the southern end of the Central West.

Koorawatha, 30km SSW of Cowra is famous (sort of) for a gun battle between bushranger Ben Hall and police on 20 May 1864. It is also the town where a uni mate of mine grew up.

Young is a substantial rural service centre famous for two things: its importance during the goldrush era – the Lambing Flats riots loom large in Australia’s racial history – and its current status as one of the country’s richest areas for stone fruits. The town, located in a valley surrounded by low hills, is the commercial centre of an agriculturally diverse district famous for its cherries, peaches, plums and other stone fruits, although berries, grapes, pigs, sheep, wheat, wool, cattle, oats, barley and eggs are all important to the local economy.

Throughout 1861 a series of violent attacks on Chinese miners by the Europeans occurred at Lambing Flats (Young) gold mining area. There were many deaths of the Chinese and  considerable looting and destruction of property.  The European miners were all acquitted. The European miners celebrated and the major upshot of the riots was the passage, in November 1861, of the Chinese Immigration Restriction Act – the beginning of the White Australia Policy. At Lambing Flat the Chinese were restricted by government decree. Further assaults on the Chinese went unpunished as European juries proved unwilling to convict the assailants. There is now a Chinese Tribute Garden at Chinaman’s Dam, just out of Young.

Iandra Castle, located 23 km north of Young, is a large homestead built between 1908 and 1910 in the Federation Romanesque style by the pioneering engineer Edward Giles Stone.  The homestead, with the surrounding agricultural property, is a rare example in Australia of the manorial system “the likes of which may not exist elsewhere in the state or nation”. The dwelling along with the surrounding stables, church and residences was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 2005. Like Abercrombie House in Bathurst, it is reminiscent of the days of house servants, butlers, maids and the like.

As with so many towns in the region, Grenfell, 55km west of Cowra, was estabished around the discovery of gold in 1866. It is also the birthplace of Henry Lawson.

Arriving in Cowra last Tuesday (3rd) we had planned to stay just 3 nights and then move on to a free camp further west near Condobolin before heading up to Parkes. However, with temperatures predicted in the high 30s, low 40s, we decided to stay put for longer as we had power at our camp at the showgrounds and could use Jake’s air conditioner.

Cowra was established in the 1840s and there still remains some historic buildings, but more have been replaced than preserved. Cowra’s primary tourist destination is the WWII POW camp, which saw a mass breakout of over 1000 Japanese prisoners, leading to the death of 231 Japanese plus 4 Australian soldiers.  A visit to the POW camp was a stark lesson in the events of 5 August 1944. Those who died are buried in the Japanese War Cemetery, and the Japanese Gardens are a beautiful setting and monument to the relationship between the people of Cowra and Japan.

Staying an extra 3 days at the Cowra showgrounds meant that we were able to attend the Cowra Cup races next door. It is only the second or third race meeting either of us have attended, and the first country race meeting. You gotta love “country”……  no crowds, no pressure.  It was an 8-race meeting. Carol and I selected our favourites each race. All we can say it’s a good thing we didn’t place any money on OUR favourites. I did manage to pick one first, and Carol picked a second. Nonetheless, it was a great afternoon.

Wildlife around the campsite was dominated by bush flies (Musca vetustissima) and Little corellas (Cacatua sanguinea) plus a few galahs (Cacatua roseicapilla). These 2 birds flocked together, roosting in trees, but primarily congregating on an adjoining paddock. They would occassionally take off on-mass. As for the flies, they congregated in and on our van, and seemed to enjoy a good night’s sleep along our washing lines under the awning.

It’s all becoming a little vague as I try to remember what we’ve done over the past two weeks. As I concluded in my last post, we arrived in Bathurst on Christmas Eve. We booked into the Big4 Caravan Park in Kelso. Not our style, but our only choice close to town, so we thought. Several days later we found that the showgrounds had nice grassed powered sites.  Oh well, an extra $15 per night for a jumping pillow and pool (that we didn’t use).

We were 7 nights in the Big4, enjoying the company of Carol’s brother (Bob) and sister in law (Jane), plus various members of their family, most days including Christmas Day .

Bob, Carol and I enjoyed* a few cycles along a cycle path (10km each way) with a few diversions and excursions.

Other members of Carol’s family joined us from time to time. Grahame and Julie took a 400km detour to pass through on their way from Brisbane to Perth, spending one night in the adjacent campsite, and Nicole and James travelled down from Dubbo to spend a few days with us.

*I used the word “enjoyed” above in reference to cycling. That’s true for the most part, however on one ride, which became her last for the time being,  as we returned to our campsite at the Big4, Carol’s front wheel got caught on the lip of a gutter as she negotiated some roadworks, spilling her to the ground. That left her with a grazed elbow and knee, bruised rib and a very black (bruising) upper arm. Not to mention bruised pride and confidence. Fortunately no doctors or hospitals were called upon, just several visits to various chemists to restock our sterile pads, bandaids and bandages.

On New Year’s Eve we departed the Big4 to travel a mere 10km to Gormans Hill (south of Bathurst) to join Ron, Sue and Justine at a farm that Ron and Sue are “farm sitting”.

The five of us (Ron, Sue, Justine, Carol and the bearded one) found a shady spot in Victoria Park to enjoy Bathurst’s 9pm fireworks spectacular and various local bands. It was a great evening.

A day or so later, Justine, Carol and I travelled out to Abercrombie House. Built in the 1870s by Bathurst pioneers the Stewart family, today it is the home of the Morgan family who have spent many years restoring the magnificent house and its outbuildings and grounds. The home is open to the public for viewing throughout the year. As we walked through the house we could imagine servant staff seeing to the needs of the family in the late 1800s early 1900s. The Stewart’s must have had a passion for Austins. Sadly left in open paddocks we found 8 Austin A125 Sheerlines (1947 – 1953), 6 saloon versions, one ambulance and one hearse, all in various states of disrepair. However the house is in what appears to be quite original condition, following considerable restoration work to counter years of post-war neglect.

We departed Bathurst for Cowra on the 3rd of January.

Firstly, Merry Christmas to our family and friends. We hope that you all enjoyed Christmas Day, and will continue to enjoy the your time off work, if you are able to have a break.

Whilst camped at Alicudi we were able to make several trips to explore the region around Orange, and the town itself. Orange really surprised us, though several friends had said it was a beautiful town. We weren’t disappointed. Lovely buildings, cooler temperatures than surrounding areas and every possible service and store you’re ever likely to need. However, it was very busy in the city centre leading up the Christmas. It was even difficult to cross the streets.

There are several tourist drives around Orange to explore neighbouring towns. Our first exploration was via the Historical and Scenic Trial to the south. We stopped at Blayney, Carcoar Dam and Millthorpe. Millthorpe was holding its second annual Millfest with stalls and local entertainment. A trendy place with award winning restaurants and specialty boutique shops.

Our next exploration took us on a Scenic Trail to the west through Cargo, Canowindra and Eugowra. Many country towns like to do something that makes them stand out against the rest. Eugowra, in the heart of bushranger country, is no exception. In May 2012, artists from across Australia were invited to paint murals throughout the town. We photographed all that we could find. Here are just a few of them.

Our last exploration drive took us along a gold rush trail to Ophir, then the Animals on Bikes Trail. The first payable gold discovery was made in Ophir in 1851, sparking Australia’s original gold rush. There’s not much remaining at Ophir, just a few memorials and the cemetery.

Animals on Bikes is a 120km “Paddock Art” sculpture tourist trail between Molong and the Dubbo Zoo, via Cumnock and Yeoval. We travelled from Molong to Yeoval. We saw a lot of the sculptures, some of which have fallen into disrepair. Here is a small selection of the supposed 120 sculptures, and the associated towns.

We finally left Alicudi and Orange on Christmas Eve, taking a short 55km drive to Bathurst for the Christmas / New Year period.